Nestled along the peaceful shores of Lake Winnebago—the largest inland lake in the United States—Rest Haven Retreat provides unique settings where individuals, couples, families, and small groups can step away from the demands of everyday life to encounter Christ, experience authentic community, and discover lasting renewal.
Pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our Lady of Champion are often part of Rest Haven Retreats.
PRIVATE LAKE HOME PROPERTY
For individuals and couples, personalized retreats are held in the private and peaceful comfort of a lakeside home overlooking beautiful Lake Winnebago.
More than a beautiful setting, these retreats provide a sacred space for honest conversation, renewed perspective, and a healing journey. Each retreat is personally facilitated by Bruce and Jeannie Hannemann, who have spent more than five decades walking together through the joys, challenges, and sorrows of marriage. Together they bring decades of combined experience in Catholic pastoral ministry, adult faith formation, marriage and family life, retreat leadership, coaching, addiction recovery, and spiritual accompaniment. They specialize in working with those who struggle with, or are affected by, the use of pornography and other sexual sins. Couples looking for guidance after infidelity fly from all over the country to spend time being mentored by this wise couple who share their healing story from sexual infidelity.
Every retreat is thoughtfully adapted to the unique needs, questions, and hopes of those present. Through gentle conversation, practical wisdom, prayer, Scripture, reflective exercises, and proven tools developed through years of healing ministry, Bruce and Jeannie create an atmosphere where participants can safely explore their circumstances, discern God's movement in their lives, and discover a healing path with renewed hope and confidence. These private retreats offer both compassionate guidance and the quiet space needed to listen for the gentle whispers of the Holy Spirit. Guests leave not only refreshed by the beauty of the lake but renewed by a deeper awareness of God's faithful presence and equipped with practical tools to continue their journey when they return home.
An Equine-Assisted Retreat Ministry
For small groups, secluded retreats are hosted at a magnificent countryside estate located on an active working horse stable overlooking Lake Winnebago. Guests enjoy beautiful accommodations with lake views, magnificent sunsets, the peaceful beauty of God's creation, and the unique therapeutic experience of interacting with horses. With miles of scenic trails winding through woods and open countryside, participants discover a place where the pace slows, relationships deepen, and hearts become more attentive to God's voice.
This faith-focused equine-assisted retreat ministry invites individuals into a deeper encounter with God through the quiet wisdom of His creation. Our retreats do not involve horseback riding. Participants are never expected to have horse experience. No riding, horsemanship skills, or prior knowledge is required. The focus is not on learning about horses but on becoming more attentive to ourselves, our relationships, and God's loving presence within our lives. Instead, participants engage in carefully facilitated experiences alongside horses while surrounded by the beauty and peace of nature. These encounters often reveal truths that are difficult to discover through words alone. Horses are not viewed as therapists, healers, or spiritual guides. They remain exactly what God created them to be—living creatures whose honest, immediate responses often reflect what is happening within us. Their natural sensitivity invites greater awareness, authenticity, trust, and presence. Because horses respond without judgment, manipulation, or pretense, they often help people recognize patterns of fear, control, vulnerability, trust, relationship, and identity in ways that feel both gentle and profound. Combined with prayer, Scripture, thoughtful reflection, and compassionate facilitation, these moments can become meaningful opportunities for spiritual growth and personal transformation.
Every retreat is grounded in the Catholic understanding of the human person—that each individual possesses inherent dignity as a beloved son or daughter of God and is continually invited into deeper communion with Him. Our experienced retreat directors accompany guests on a powerful journey of faith focused flourishing.
Our approach is:
Faith-focused and rooted in Christian anthropology
Roman Catholic in origin and outlook, ecumenical in outreach
Trauma-aware and relationship-centered
Respectful of both human and animal dignity
Experiential rather than lecture-based
Reflective rather than performance-driven
Centered on encounter, not entertainment
Whether someone is seeking restoration after betrayal, freedom from unhealthy patterns, deeper family relationships, vocational discernment, healing from life's wounds, or simply a place of quiet renewal, our retreats offer an invitation to slow down, listen well, and discover that God's grace often meets us in the most unexpected places. At Rest Haven Retreat we believe that when hearts become still, truth becomes clearer. When truth is embraced with love, healing begins. And when healing is entrusted to God's grace, lives are transformed.
We offer small group retreats on a magnificent property that combines scenic views with a relaxed, country atmosphere of over 26 acres, in a 6,100 square foot estate home with five expansive bedrooms, five and a half baths, multiple fireplaces, an expansive kitchen, and unique gathering spaces. This horse stable setting brings a unique and authentic backdrop to our retreats.
At Rest Haven Retreat, every retreat is built upon our PROCLAIM – CLAIM – RECLAIM approach to lifelong faith formation and healing.
We offer a wide variety of Christ-centered retreats, including:
Healing Retreats
Women's Retreats
Men's Retreats
Marriage Preparation Retreats
Marriage Enrichment Retreats
Parenting Retreats
Mother & Daughter Retreats
Father & Son Retreats
We also offer specialized healing and restoration retreats for those facing life's deepest wounds, including individuals struggling with pornography and other unhealthy sexual behaviors, spouses and families experiencing betrayal trauma, and couples seeking hope, healing, and marriage recovery. We also offer extensive support for those caught up in the grief of death of a loved one, or separation and divorce.
Whether you are longing for spiritual renewal, stronger relationships, deeper faith, or freedom from life's burdens, a Rest Haven Retreat provides a peaceful place to slow down, encounter God's healing grace, and return home with a renewed sense of purpose, hope, and joy.
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." — Matthew 11:28
The Shepherd Way Immersion Experience Retreats invite individuals, couples, families, clergy, and small groups to step away from the noise of everyday life and encounter Christ, the Good Shepherd, in a peaceful working sheep farm just 30 miles from the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion. Through guided experiences with sheep, nature, prayer, and reflection, participants discover timeless lessons about identity, belonging, resilience, healing, and hope. Whether seeking spiritual renewal, mental and emotional restoration, or a deeper relationship with God, The Shepherd Way offers a unique retreat experience where the wisdom of the pasture illuminates the path to human flourishing.
NAVIGATE Retreats and Pilgrimages offer a unique opportunity for women experiencing betrayal trauma to step away from the pain and begin a journey of healing, hope, and restoration. Centered at the peaceful Zechariah House of Hope and Healing and enriched by a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, these retreats combine compassionate support, practical guidance, prayer, the sacraments, and the loving presence of Our Blessed Mother. Women leave knowing they are not alone, anchored in Christ, and equipped with renewed strength to navigate the road ahead.